Community reaction m ixed
PORTLAND
PDC plans distribution center
OBSERVER
Volume H No. 5 Thursday, January 26, 1978 10c per copy
Board adopts City-School plan
A watered down version of the C ity /
Gladys McCoy recommended that the
School Commission was endorsed by the
Board adopt the proposal but hold a
Portland School Board Monday night
public hearing latter to inform the public
following opposition from the public. The
about the proposal, “so people under
thrice-changed proposal was accepted
stand and can have their questions
with the requirement that a public
answered, we will get support.”
hearing be held and that the proposal be
Among the citizens speaking was Ms.
open to change before presentation to the
Claudia Fisher who questioned the pro
M ott foundation for funding.
cess of adoption without involving citi
The proposal, which first came to
zens, and expressed her concern that the
public attention in December, was re
Commission would negate the work of
vised last Friday and again Monday, prior
the Community Coalition for School In
to the Board meeting.
The proposal
te g ra tio n and s im ila r com m unity
originally would have formed a nine-
groups.
Ms. Jan Rose, a southeast
resident, emotionally described the hours
member Commission to
plan
and
of work citizens do in neighborhood
implement city school policy involving
closure and reorganization of schools and
groups, only to have their influence
usurped by appointed boards.
She
joint use of school buildings. The most
accused the Board of developing “another
recent proposal has the Commission in a
layer of unnecessary bureaucracy."
more advisory role.
Board member W ally Priestley c riti
The Committee for Quality Education
cized the process through which the
for All Children had requested a delay
proposal was designed - written by the
and reiterated their position that the
school district and city staff and lobbied
Commission would have “negative impli
by Superintendent Blanchard - without
cators from citizen participation."
School Board or public input.
Mrs. Vesia Loving accused the City and
He also expressed concern that the the School District of “an illegitimate
appointed commission would subvert citi
relationship.” “The School Board and the
zen participation.
City are trying to show a perfect m ar
Following citizen testimony asking for riage relationship but in essence. I view it
a delay to enable citizens to read the
as a 'shacking up' kind of arrangement
proposal and respond. Board member until each reaches certain goals....I con
sider this Commission as another con by
the School Board - not facing its respon
sibility in implementing a just and fair
integration plan.”
Supporters of the proposal included
Mrs. Gerry Newhall. Although she sup
ported the concept, said her organization
Schools for the C ity ” did not have time
to review the proposal and take a
position.
Mrs. Julie (Don) Sterling
supported the proposal.
Prior to the Board meeting some of the
more offensive language regarding racial
desegregation had been deleted.
The original stated: “For almost a
decade, the School District has been
providing an expanding voluntary stu
dent transfer program to reduce racial
isolation in this area. The two major
components of this program, early child
hood centers which attract a m ajority
population to transfer to primary schools
with substantial minority enrollment, and
a transfer program for minority children
wishing to enroll in schools in predomi
nately white neighborhoods, have been
extremely successful." The statement
“to reduce racial isolation in this area”
and "wishing to enroll" were deleted and
"achieved a significant level of success"
substituted from “been extrem ely suc
cessful."
Over one hundred persons attended
the King Neighborhood Association
meeting Tuesday night to hear Thomas
Kennedy, director of the Union Avenue
Redevelopment Project, explain Portland
Development Commission's plans for a
Nordstrom distribution center in their
neighborhood.
PDC plans to demolish the existing
structures in a four block area bordered
by Union Avenue and Sixth Avenue,
Shaver and Skidmore. The plan is a
portion of the effort to redevelop the
Union Avenue strip.
Many citizens present at the meeting
had not heard about the proposal and
were concerned that the immediate
neighbors of the area had not been
contacted. Several expressed anger that
the Neighborhood
Association,
the
Northeast Coalition and other community
based organizations had not been includ
ed in the planning. Kennedy explained
that his office is contacting residents in
the four block area first to explain relo
cation benefits, determine the effects of
relocation on the households and gain
their approval. He reiterated several
times that the property owners have a
choice and that the “community" can
accept or block the project.
Kennedy also said a number of meet
ings will be held in the community to
explain the program, but none have been
scheduled. He also informed the group
that public hearings will be held and “a
DO 0
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Alaska.
He was elected to the National Board of
the N A A C P and was considered a leader
among the “Young Turks", a group of
younger men who attempted to update
and modernize the organization.
Tanner, who is 59, is a practicing
attorney in Tacoma. In one of his better
known cases he represented Indian tribes
of Western Washington in their success
fui effort to gain fishing rights provided
by their treaties with the United States.
Tanner was a candidate for the Demo
cratic nomination for Governor of Wash
ington
and
is
close
to
Senator-
Henry Jackson.
He was a platform
speaker at the 1972 Democratic National
Convention.
Kennedy explained that buildings will
be purchased at fair market value and
resident-owners will be eligible for up to
$15,000 for relocation in addition to
moving costs. Renters can receive up to
$4,000 plus moving costs. He said the
project will not be launched it the resi
dents do not agree but gave no criteria
for determining that decision. I f the
decision to sell is made by enough owners
to receive approval for the project, the
others will have to go, he stated. The final
decision will be made by the City Council
and is to be made approximately three
weeks.
Currently the plan is to clear the
property, prepare the site and sell it to
Nordstrom tor a distribution center.
The building, as envisioned, will be no
more than two stories high and will be
landscaped. Nordstrom would also open a
bargain type store on Union Avenue and
would employ approximately ninety per
sons. I f Nordstrom takes the property.
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it must be ready for occupancy in the
Spring of 1979, but there is no assurance
that they will buy.
Kennedy explained that economic de
veiopment in the area between Killings
worth and Fremont is needed and that an
overriding factor is the creation of jobs in
the area. Nordstrom projects approxi
mately ninety jobs. Kennedy said there
are assurances that many of these em
ployees would come from the community
and that training for upward mobility
would be included.
Among the concerns expressed by
those present at the meeting were:
lowering the value of surrounding prop
erty , later expansion to surrounding
property, increased crime, appearance,
change of environment for homes across
Sixth Avenue.
Persons in the site expressed fears
about relocating including: increased
mortgage payments, fair payment for
property, higher taxes, availability of
suitable housing, removal from the fam
iliar neighborhood, loss of security for
elderly persons.
During and after the meeting many
persons stated their fears that decisions
had already been made and that this is
another move to replace residential areas
in Albina with commercial and light
industry. Most comments were over the
fact that the plan had gone this far
without community involvement. -
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N.E. Union Ave.
Tanner appointed federal judge
President Jimmy C arter has an
nounced the nomination of Tacoma attor
ney Jack Tanner to be U.S. District
Judge for the Eastern and Western
Districts of Washington.
Tanner has been active in the N A A C P
for many years, serving as President of
the Tacoma Branch and President of the
Northwest Area Conference which in
cludes Washington, Oregon. Idaho and
vote will be taken".
Persons living across Sixth Avenue
and in the immediate neighborhood were
concerned that they had not been includ
ed in the "affected group” and had not
been notified.
According to Kennedy, the site con
tains 46 residential buildings with an
estimated 60 residential units. Eighteen
are owner occupied and 29 are tennant
occupied.
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N.E. 7th Ave.
South African liberation movement leader visits Portland
by Elizabeth Groff
“The Blacks of South Africa are ready
for any serious revolutionary activity."
These were the words of Sipho (pro
nounced See' po) Buthelezi. former Secre
tary General of South Africa’s Black
People's Convention, when he was in this
country briefly in August of last year.
Buthelezi, who has lived in exile in
Botswana since 1974 teaching in a “Bri
gade" high school and acting as a repre
sentative of the Black People's Conven
tion (founded by Steve Biko and now a
banned organization), is back in the
States for a nation-wide speaking tour
sponsored by the American Friends
Service Committee.
He will be in
Portland from January 29th to February
1st. talking about the political trends in
South Africa from the time of the Soweto
riots to present-day developments.
T hirty ^ne years old, Buthelezi was
born of a working class family in South
Africa. He was active in student politics
throughout the 60s and early ’70s, helped
form a local branch of SASO (South
African Students' Organization) in 1970
and became Secretary General of the
Black People's Convention in 1972. In
1973 he was arrested, served with a
five year banning and restriction order
and later sentenced to imprisonment and
tortured before fleeing to Botswana in
1974.
Buthelezi’s speaking tour began sev
eral weeks ago in Philadelphia where he
said that the recent bannings and arrest
have brought a new chapter to the
struggle against white minority rule in
South Africa. 1978, he says, will be a
crucial year in the struggle.
"We are under no illusions that difficult
limes lie ahead of us,” Buthelezi said.
“But we have abundant confidence and
faith in the invincibility of the people in
the struggle."
Buthelezi believes that the liberation
struggle inevitably will include increased
armed action but will also rely significant
ly on other activities such as strikes and
boycotts. He sees outside pressure for
U.S., British and other Western corpora
tions to withdraw from South Africa as
an important part of the struggle.
One goal of the Black People's Conven
tion, which has adopted the Black Con
sciousness Movement as its working
ideology, is to raise the awareness of all
people that the system in South Africa is
designed for “maximum exploitation of
Black people.” As a result, “the BPC
suffered heavy repression from the
start," says Buthelezi. W ithin sixteen
months all of the executive leadership of
the BPC was either imprisoned, banned,
under house arrest or in exile. Solidarity
rallies in 1974 for Mozambique brought
the heaviest government crackdown.
Regarding Zimbabwe, Buthelezi said,
"We are very suspicious of calculated
attempts by those who talk about ‘peace*
to install a puppet, neocolonial regime
under Black masks." He said the current
Anglo-American peace proposals smack
too much of Prime M inister Smith’s
“internal solution," because they would
keep a disproportionate number of whites
in power along with Blacks.
On South Africa, he added that “We
view the Bantustans for what they are -
cheap labor reservoirs and slavery
camps." He sees Soweto as more than
just an isolated incident, which is how
many people in the West view it. “Actual
ly, the organizing work (in Soweto) had
been going on for some tim e,” he pointed
out. “I t was not just riots but organized
political activity. The western media has
twisted the situation to make people
think it was an outburst against the
Bantu education only, but it was a
struggle against the whole repressive
system of apartheid."
W hile in Portland, in addition to
talking about the current political trends
in South Africa in the context of the
struggles for liberation, Buthelezi will
discuss the bannings, Steve Biko, political
trends and negotiations in Namibia and
Zimbabwe, U.S. investment and present
tasks of the liberation movement.
There will be a number of opportuni
ties to hear Buthelezi during his stay in
Portland:
Sunday, January 29th, 11:30 to 1:30 at
the Northwest Regional Convention of
the National Lawyers Guild in Room 328
Smith Center at Portland State U niver
sity. Sandwiches at cost. Open to the
public.
Monday, January 30th, 7:00 p.m.. Dis
cussion with Portland Citizens Against
Racism at 3733 N .E. 24th; 10:30 p.m..
Interview with Tod W arren, Channel 12
(live).
Tuesday, January 31st, 7:30 p.m.,
"South Africa Today - Repression and
Resistance," King Neighborhood Facility
Cafetorium, 4815 N .E . 7th Avenue; 10:30
a.m.. Live interview on KBOO, F M 90.7;
12:00 Noon: Meeting with the Black
Students Union, Portland State Univer
sity.
Wednesday, February 1st, 3:30 p.m.,
Lewis and Clark College, Council Cham
bers, “South Africa Today.”
SIPHO BUTHELEZI
Senator Humphrey’s last message was to Black Americans
A t the exact moment on Friday
evening. January 13th, that Senator
Hubert Humphrey died, he was being
honored by the National Newspaper
Publisher’s Association.
Ofield Dukes, assistant to Humphrey
during his term as Vice President, had
been sent to Miami to read Senator
Humphrey's speech to the group. Dukes
also carried with him a speech to be
delivered the following night to Atlanta's
Ekenezer Baptist Church, where the
M artin Luther King, Jr., Center for
Social Changes had planned a tribute to
Humphrey, and with the Senator receiv
ing the M artin Luther King Memorial
Award.
After Humphrey's death, the night
before, the program was changed to a
Memorial Service and Dukes read what
turned out to be Humphrey's last speech
a strong statement on civil rights.
The two speeches follow.
SPEEC H D E L IV E R E D I D N N PA
J A N U A R Y 13,1978
"Dear friends, I remain eternaly grate-
fid the strong bonds of friendship which
have characterized our relationship
over the years, I will never forget the
firm friendship you have extended to me,
particularly during the 1968 Presidential
campaign.
' I can recall when we first set up the
National Newspaper Publishers Associa
tion Governmental Affairs Committee,
and how much we in government b e n e fi
did not eradicate inequality and injustice
ted from the candid discussion we had
from our society.
with leading Black editors and publish
T h a t is why I believe the concept of
ers. I am aware Vice President Mondale
the civil rights movement must be broad
has been contacted about re-establishing
ened to include the rights and opportuni
this Committee, and you can be assured I
ties that should be available to all
will do all I can to see that it becomes
disadvantaged groups in America.
I
operational once again.
know this is your goal as well.
"Much has occurred since we were
‘T h e struggle for civil rights is a
together two years ago in Philadelphia.
struggle for the rights and privileges and
We have lost some dear friends friends
duties of all Americans. And what do
who were very close to me personally.
these rights include?
Cecil Newman of the Minnea.ralis S,>okes-
The right to a meaningful life, free
man and Howard Woods of the St. Ixiuis
from poverty that today afflicts some 25
Sentinel. I pay special tribute to these
milllion Americans.
two exceptional journalists whose style
— The right to full and equal
and ideals exemplified the conscience of
protection under the law - an end to the
America.
double standard applied to many of those
"You are now in your 151st year as an
who are less privileged, where justice
organization which has been the voice of
delayed can become justice denied.
the Black press of America. You have
The right to productive and gainful
raised the cry for equal rights and human
employment - for all our people, as a
justice from coast to coast. Your organi
specific national goal toward whose
zation has been in the vanguard of the
achievement we will apply every possible
civil rights movement.
You are the
private and public resource.
backbone of Black leadership through the
The right to economic, political and
country, and you are to be commended
social opportunity where progress to
for your courage, diligence and high
ward realizing one's full potential will
ideals in the pursuit of equality and public
confront no artificial barrier of discrimi
service.
nation based on race, creed or sex.
“I want to talk to you tonight about the
„ ~ Th* r ’ghl t0 * decent neighborhood.
continuation of this great struggle for
The right to a life free from violence
human rights and human dignity.
and terrorism.
"We are all fully aware that the civil
“ - The right to quality education at all
rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s levels, free from segregation.
" - The right to live in good health
under a system that helps assure modern
health care for all at the lowest possible
cost.
“ - The right to be free from hunger
and malnutrition.
“ -- And the right to a clean and
wholesome environment.
‘These rights belong to all American
people. W ithout them there are no real
civil or human rights.
‘T h e new dimensions of civil rights are
to be found in the living and working
conditions of our people.
‘T h is is our challenge, for if we cannot
overcome the economic and social ob
stacles to the full participation of our
citizens in our society, the hard-won
political and civil rights of the last two
decades will hold little meaning for
millions of our people.
“Here in the United States, we have
the most heterogeneous mixture of races,
religions and nationalities ever to coexist
peacefully under the tent of democracy.
And we are the world's oldest democracy,
which has completed celebrating two
centuries of freedom.
“I am an optimist. There is every
reason to believe that our third century
can be one of expanding freedom and
opportunity for all Americans.
“W e live by hope. We do not always
get all we want when we want it. But we
have to believe that someday, somehow,
someway it will be better, and that we
can make it so.
"Your organization has always risen to
the challenges presented by a less than
perfect society, and I know you will
continue to do so until we finally achieve
the ideal human condition for all our
citizens.
Again, I deeply regret that I am
unable to be with you personally tonight.
But I urge you to make a New Year’s
resolution that you will stay on course,
and continue to work to overcome the
barriers to genuine freedom and oppor
tunity for all our people.”
S E N A T O R H l'M P H R E Y ’S
F IN A L M ESSAG E
J A N U A R Y 14,1978
“Fourteen years ago D r. M artin Luther
King, Jr. shared with us his dream for
America. That cherished dream of what
our nation could and should be, became
our dream as well.
Today we come
together to celebrate the forty ninth
anniversary of the birth of thia champion
of the right of all people.
We come
together to recommit ourselves to the
struggle to reach the promised land
which he described from the mountain
top.
"I am deeply moved by the tribute
bestowed upon me tonight. To be linked
to D r. King in the battle for equal rights
is a distinct honor. My only regret is that
I cannot be with all of you tonight to
share ip your warm friendship.
“Your work, your sacrifice, your vision,
your determination and your commit
ment to an equal chance in life for all of
our people have made great progress
possible. Because of your efforts, we
have rew ritten the nation’s laws to
clearly recognize equal rights for all
Americans. And, don't let anyone sell
this achievement short - it is monumen-
tai. W ithout it, equality of opportunity is
not possible in education, in employment,
in your neighborhood, in any important
aspect of American life.
‘Today, life is better for most Black
Americans than it was for their parents
or grandparents.
Incomes are better,
educational opportunities are greater,
health care has improved, political in
fluence and representation has increased,
and much more.
That is progress.
I*rogress which reaches into the homes of
millions of our fellow citizens and directly
affects their lives. I t is real progress, and
we must not forget that it has occurred.
“But, we cannot be satisfied in measur
ing our progress solely by the distance
we have come from the abominable
conditions that existed in a period of
gross injustice. We must face the facts.
For despite our progress, a huge valley of
shame separates Black and white Ameri
ca:
(Please turn to Page 2 Column 4)